Tuesday, December 16, 2025

If you want good allies, you need to be a good ally.

Trump forced allies to pay up — and it worked


NATO defense spending rose sharply only after Trump applied pressure, proving alliances improve when America asserts its interests.

In the fifth century B.C., a group of Greek city-states formed a defensive alliance known as the Delian League to protect them against the Persian Empire.

Athens, the most powerful member, gradually increased its power. Its rulers moved the league’s common treasury from the island of Delos to Athens (to keep it safe, of course), attacked allies that attempted to secede, and started casually referring to the alliance as “our empire.”

If you want good allies, you need to be a good ally.

The most brazen assertion came when the Athenian leader Pericles raided the league treasury to fund building projects in Athens (including the Parthenon).

When the other league members objected, Pericles insisted that the treasury was less like a common military budget and more like protection money: As long as the Persians aren’t breaking down your doors, we can spend league funds however we want.




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